


Days of our Ylisse

by Squishy (BurbleJerry)



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Growing Up, Nagamas 2017
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-23
Updated: 2017-12-23
Packaged: 2019-02-18 19:04:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13106574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BurbleJerry/pseuds/Squishy
Summary: A Nagamas 2017 gift for mitz0 on tumblr! Hope y'all enjoy!





	Days of our Ylisse

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mitz0](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mitz0/gifts).



Lon’qu squinted in the sunlight, shining bright and early through the open window, yet it did as much good as squinting in the darkness had: which was none. His familial bedroom was distinctly lacking in childish giggles or suspiciously-moving curtains. The myrmidon frowned and peered under the large bed, just to make sure Owain hadn’t fallen asleep under it. Again. 

With a resigned sigh, Lon’qu stood up and took one final look around the room. The large bed he shared with Lissa was clean, but the small bed belonging to their toddler son was a mess. Lovingly decorated sheets hung off the side, at best, and one of the pillows was discarded halfway across the room. Whether the lad had messed up the bed before or after the morning maid visit was a mystery. 

The image of Owain waiting under the sheets came to mind. A lump under a star-covered quilt, giggling, waiting to leap out and toddler-babble at whomever approached. Usually, the youngster just got impatient and leapt free anyway, even if nobody was near his bed. Lon’qu smiled at the thought, an expression he rarely wore and yet… lately, it seemed easier to wear.

As he was leaving the room, a small note atop Lissa’s desk caught Lon’qu’s sharp eye. The name ‘Maribelle of Themis’ at the top served as a reminder that the woman was visiting his wife today. While she could be cold and judgemental, Lon’qu found he appreciated Maribelle’s friendship with Lissa, and respected the woman herself. After a moment of reflection, he stepped out of the room to resume his part in hide-and-seek.

If it hadn’t been Lon’qu’s turn to play with Owain, he would be by Lissa’s side right now, likely sitting through gossip and tea. The thought of trusting the guards still made the myrmidon anxious, but strife was far from Ylisse, and he told himself Lissa was fine. Lissa was safe, Lissa was healthy, and Lissa didn’t need her husband worrying every moment of every day.

The halls of Castle Ylisse were about as busy as usual: the Duke of Themis’ daughter visiting was often enough that the residents and servants of the palace went about their lives with little change. Lon’qu stepped quietly through the halls, noting the nods of passing people, the occasionally startled reactions of those who failed to notice his approach, his own muted flinching when passing near women. He peered through those rooms whose doors were open, and found no sign of his spirited son. Concern was more and more prevalent in his mind, but he told himself not to worry, the castle was safe, his son was safe, and these thoughts distracted him so much that he almost walked in and out of the room his wife was preparing.

“Lon’qu, you ok?” Lissa asked, setting down the last of the plates. He heard the worry in her sweet voice, and tried to compose his features.

“Fine. Have you seen Owain?” He almost regretted his blunt question as soon as Lissa’s eyes grew wide, but something was off; Lon’qu didn’t quite detect anxiety from her.

“Not since this morning. Why, is he ok?” 

“He’s fine. We’re playing hide-and-seek. I told him not to go too far, but it seems he did. Again.” Lon’qu’s eyes were momentarily drawn to a slight movement of the tablecloth.

“Ohhhh, well, I haven’t seen him,” Lissa smiled. Something about her expression, the way she was trying not to grin wide, tipped Lon’qu off. He smiled slightly.

“Let me know if you see him,” Lon’qu replied. The tablecloth twitched as a toddler-like giggle escaped it. Lon’qu added, “I’m going to check the kitchen. Where there is candy.” 

Lissa’s response was cut off by the giggling rush of a happy yellow blur running into Lon’qu’s legs. Little toddler Owain was reaching up at his dad, his words largely babble but becoming more understandable by the day.

“You must promise not to go too far again, then you can have candy,” Lon’qu reprimanded. But the toddler just giggled and nodded, and Lon’qu had no faith that the little tyke would keep to his word. But he smiled, and lifted his laughing son, and said, “Ok. Let’s go. I will see you and Maribelle later, Lissa.”

“Have fun, love! Remember, Maribelle brought Brady with her, so Owain can play with him later!” Lissa called after him. With a nod at her, Lon’qu left the room, giggling toddler in his arms, to spoil with candy. Only a little candy, he futilely promised himself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Lon’qu!” 

Startling, Lon’qu realized this wasn’t the first time his name had been called. Lowering his training sword, the myrmidon looked to his flustered wife and managed an awkward smile. It was strange to wear the expression when his apology was so strongly tinged with love. “Sorry. What did you need?”

Lissa smiled back at him, her hands seeking his with familiar ease, “You’re almost done, right? Owain swears you said you’d spend time with him, and I’m gonna be too busy today.”

He did promise Owain that, didn’t he? “Right. I’ll go to him now. Where is he?” Strange, to think that his son was almost eight. It felt like Owain was a wailing, newborn baby just yesterday. 

Lissa smiled, “He’s in his room right now. You go wash up, and I’ll get the training equipment put away.”

“Thank you,” Lon’qu replied, leaning in to give his wife a gentle kiss. He handed her the practice blade, washed his face and arms and the worst of the sweat off, then headed inside the castle. His young son was quite lively, and never seemed to run out of energy until he suddenly fell over for a nap. It was endearing, if a little concerning to the myrmidon.

Lon’qu had just reached the floor where Owain’s room was when he heard a cry. Memories of war flooded in his mind even as he ran, already at the room, door flung open in a flash. His young son stared at him in surprise, clutching his arm tight. At his feet was a practice blade, lying as if dropped.

“What happened?” Lon’qu demanded, gaze sweeping the room, wooden sword already in his hands. He saw no intruder, and finally focused on Owain, only to soften his glare. The young boy had tears in his grey-green eyes, expression guilty as he looked away. Kneeling before his son, Lon’qu set the sword aside and gently lay a hand upon Owain’s shoulder, careful to make his tone gentler, “Owain. I’m not angry. Tell me what happened.”

Owain clutched at his arm tighter, voice quavering in-between escaping sniffles, “... I was practicing.”

“That weapon is too big for you,” Lon’qu explained with a frown, mostly out of concern, “Did you hurt yourself?” As Owain hesitated, Lon’qu reflected that he was so gentle to his son. Strict, at times, but gentle at others. He sometimes wondered if his family would have approved. Even if they didn’t, he would keep trying to be better. It was worth the light in Owain’s eyes, and the moment when his son looked to him, resolved to be honest with his dad.

“I hit my bed, and the hilt hit my arm, and I dropped it, and my arm hurts,” Owain babbled, fresh tears running down his freckled cheeks.

“May I see?” Lon’qu asked, and Owain reluctantly held his arm out. The bruise didn’t look too bad, and Lon’qu breathed a sigh of relief. “You will be fine, but we should go see your mother, just in case.”

Owain nodded, looking like a kicked puppy, “Ok. … I’m sorry, father. Heroes shouldn’t cry.”

Lon’qu was quiet, for a long enough moment that Owain looked to him with unease. Then the myrmidon took both of his son’s shoulders in hand, looking him in the face with a steady gaze, “It’s ok to cry, Owain. I know that some people tell you it isn’t the way of a man, that it’s beneath a prince to cry, but don’t feel ashamed to do it. I was told not to cry, for a very long time, and you know how hard it is for me to express myself now, right?” When Owain nodded, Lon’qu smiled at him, “Don’t be afraid to be yourself, Owain. I’m proud of you as you are. But,” he added, “Don’t practice by yourself anymore.”

“But-”

“No ‘buts’, Owain. You can wait until your birthday.” Lon’qu smiled wider as Owain’s eyes lit up, his expression full of shock, and then joy.

“Really?! I can be a swordsman like you! I can be a great hero like Mother and Father!” Owain bounced under Lon’qu’s hands as if filled with bees. “Let’s go see Mother and tell her!” Owain declared, grabbing Lon’qu’s hand and rushing out of the room. Lon’qu shook his head and followed, deciding not to ruin Owain’s excitement with the fact that Lissa already knew, nor with the fact that he’d be in trouble. Lon’qu wasn’t worried; after all, Owain would have his ‘hero’ father as his teacher.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hark, Mother!” Owain called, dramatically pushing the bedroom doors open (after an initial bit of struggle). The room was empty. Owain stared into it as if his gaze alone could summon his mother.

A cleared throat had Owain turning around, to the servant in the hallway who eyed him with mild concern. Only mild, because Owain’s dramatic reputation was well-known despite his youth. 

Owain, of course, didn’t care (much) about his reputation, and faced the servant with a proud pose, “Pray tell, exalted assistant, where my mother currently resides?”

“Lady Lissa is in the garden-” was all Owain waited to hear. He threw a hasty thanks over his shoulder, already running for the nearest path for the Ylissean gardens. His steps echoing down the halls posed as the only warning any passerby got before Owain zipped by them, bumping into and around servants and guards alike.

The gardens were a legacy of Emmeryn, lovingly cared for in her memory. Stone lanes between artfully-arranged flowers and plants made for both beauty and a practical source of food. Owain simply ran through, too used to the sight and too busy on his own quest to admire the scenery. All the lad paid mind to was staying on the path, as he didn’t want to be scolded for stepping on the greenery again.

It didn’t take long to spot Mother: the flash of yellow in the sunlight gave her a holy aura. She turned, yelped, and a nearby frog hopped away. Owain gave it no thought. x  
It wasn’t long before Owain spotted his mom. She was crouched before the pond, where sunshine sparkled upon its surface and lilies opened their petals to the light. No doubt she was invested in some exalted task, but Owain couldn’t wait, and ran right up to her,” Mother!”

Lissa yelped and quickly turned to face her son, as a frog hopped away behind her. She glanced about before wiping her palms off on her skirt, probably because nobody was around to be offended. 

Owain didn’t care much about propriety, and he launched into speech as soon as he remotely had Mother’s attention, “Mother! I come bearing, uh… bearing a great idea!” He grinned, proud of his developing on-the-fly word skills.

“Hello, Owain! Don’t you have training with your father soon?” she beamed at him, and his little heart thumped with pride. 

“I do, but this couldn’t wait! Mother, what if I also guard you?” Owain grinned, watching his mother’s expression go from cheerful to confused.

“What-”

“Like how Father guards you!” Owain explained. By now, he was practically bouncing in place, “I figure heroes guard people, so I should guard people! Especially healers. Uncle Robin told me that healers need to be kept safe.”

Lissa’s eyes narrowed for a moment, no doubt thankful that Uncle Robin shared such vital information with Owain. She kneeled before Owain, and he stilled, knowing that she was about to share either great wisdom or a gentle let-down, or both.

“Owain, honey, that’s a good idea, and your heart is in the right place. But I don’t need you guarding me, too, ok?”

“But… but what if Father’s too busy brooding to protect you?” Owain gestured to the harmless flowers nearby, startling away a butterfly, “What if assassin's leap from the plants, or, or…”

Lissa’s hands to either side of his freckled face made Owain trail off, and after she leaned in to kiss his forehead, she said softly, “Owain, nothing’s going to happen to me. The war is far away from Ylisse, our home is well-guarded, and I can take care of myself. It hurts to be hit with a staff!” Sh laughed, and Owain laughed with her, before she continued, “Your father and I are a team, Owain. We protect each other, and we work together to protect Ylisse. Your Uncle Robin forgot to mention that it works both ways. You better let him know that!” 

“I will!” Owain promised, but after a moment he scuffed the ground, “Mother? When I’m better with the sword, can I protect Ylisse with you and Father? Please?” He stared at her balefully, “I wanna- my heart yearns for adventure! My blood sings with the power of our family! I-”

“Owain, hold on,” Lissa tried not to chuckle at her son’s energy, “Of course you can. You’re a Prince of Ylisse, after all. But you need to focus on your training first, ok? Not just the swordwork,” she added, to which Owain pouted. “I know, it isn’t all fun and games to be a Prince, but you can do it. Think about it, Owain. You could become the Hero-Prince.”

That was all it took to convince the lad, and Owain brightened up enough to match the sun shining above, “Yeah! Ok, Mother. I’ll do my best!”

“That’s my son,” Lissa pulled him into a great hug, “Now run along, your father will be waiting.” She stood as he bounded off, watching him nearly run into one of the gardeners. He was only a decade old, but Lissa knew he’d grow up great.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“-Then I’ll show Brady the secret to the Radiant Path technique,” Owain babbled on to his father with broad gestures, as he steadily leaned further and further off-center atop his horse.

“Owain, you’re going to fall off,” Lon’qu pointed out patiently, a small smile on his face.

“Oh yeah.” Owain straightened upon his steed, and his dramatic chatter continued as if never interrupted.

They expected to reach Themis by evening. It was early afternoon, yet Lissa expected her teenage son to be excited the entire way there. She looked forward to seeing Maribelle again, and he was fast friends with Maribelle’s son, even if the occasional argument had to be broken up. With the war over, and peace restored, Lissa looked forward to nothing bad happening whatsoever in the near future.

“Father, Mother? Can I ask you something?” 

Owain’s somber tone drew Lissa’s attention. She shared a concerned glance with Lon’qu before venturing to ask, “What is it, Owain?”

Owain’s tone was strangely reserved. He looked between Lon’qu and Lissa, and asked with unusual care, “Are… are you guys proud of me?”

“Of course we are!” Lissa exclaimed.

At the same time, Lon’qu asked, “What brought this up?”

“Nothing! Just… sometimes, my friends say I’m weird,” Owain mumbled, looking away, “I mean, I know I’m a fledgling hero, with my blood thrumming with heroic power, but… does that make me weird?”

“Oh, Owain,” Lissa breathed, “You’re unique, honey. You’re your own person, and we couldn’t be prouder of you.”

“You don’t act like a normal person,” Lon’qu admitted. Owain deflated, until Lon’qu went on, “You don’t need to. I know you’ll do great things, and protect those important to you. As Lissa said: we couldn’t be prouder.”

Owain perked right up again with a grin, “Your pride in me brings my power to new heights!” He clutched at his wrist, “My blood aches with it! I-”

“Maybe you could tone it down,” Lon’qu suggested levely. At Owain’s shocked look, Lon’qu smiled.

“Wh-- Mother! Father’s teasing me!” But Owain laughed even as he said it, and Lon’qu chuckled, and Lissa laughed with her family.

As the Duke of Themis’ home came into view, Owain cheered and spurred his horse ahead of his parents, no doubt eager to see his friend again. Lissa looked to Lon’qu, and found him doing the same. Their eyes met, a brief and silent exchange between them. As the stableboy arrived to take their horses, Lon’qu and Lissa held hands and stepped up to the door.


End file.
